STERIS plc Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.57 (NYSE:STE)

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.57 per share by the medical equipment provider on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%.

STERIS has increased its dividend by an average of 9.5% annually over the last three years. STERIS has a payout ratio of 20.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect STERIS to earn $10.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.7%.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $221.28. 359,733 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,130. STERIS has a 12-month low of $197.82 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $211.46 and a 200 day moving average of $224.77. The company has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.